Modifying a Widget's Appearance

There are a number of ways to change the appearance of a widget. The most common ways are: 

For some widgets, you can also change which buttons are displayed and other widget-specific properties.

Changing a Widget's Label

Each widget has a label -- a string of text displayed in the left hand corner of the widget. The default layout uses a version of the slot name for the widget label, where underscores are replaced by blanks and the first letters of the resulting words are capitalized. When end users actually enter instances, they use the label to determine the type of information they should enter. To change the label:

  1. Double-click directly on the widget. The Widget Configuration dialog box is displayed. (Note: If the Form Configuration dialog box is displayed, you have accidentally clicked somewhere on the background of the form. Close the dialog box and click again.)
  2. Enter the label you want in the label field of the Widget Configuration dialog box. You can use a multi-word phrase. 
  3. Click OK.

Resizing a Widget

You can easily make a widget smaller or larger by resizing it. To do this:

  1. Click on the widget to select it. A blue boundary appears around the border of the widget.
  2. Click and drag anywhere on the boundary to resize the widget. Most widgets can only be resized horizontally (narrower or wider). You can resize cardinality Multiple widgets both horizontally and vertically.

Note: You can select a single widget that will take up most of the form as the form is resized on the screen by end users. See Changing a Form's Layout for more information.

Moving a Widget to a New Location

To move a widget on the form:

  1. Click on the widget to select it. A blue boundary appears around the border of the widget.
  2. Click in the interior of the widget and hold down the mouse button.
  3. Drag the widget to the desired location.

Note: To hide a widget so that it won't be displayed on the form, use the Widget Type Menu. See Hiding a Widget for more information.

Choosing a Widget's Buttons

Some widgets, for example, all cardinality Multiple widgets, have buttons displayed on the upper right corner of the widget. You can turn the display of these buttons on and off individually. To choose which buttons are displayed for a widget:

  1. Double-click directly on the widget. The Widget Configuration dialog box is displayed. (Note: If the Form Configuration dialog box is displayed, you have accidentally clicked somewhere on the background of the form. Close the dialog box and click again.)
  2. If the widget has buttons, there will be a Buttons tab in the Widget Configuration dialog box. Click this tab.
  3. Select the buttons you want to display by making sure there is a check in the appropriate check boxes.
  4. Click OK.

Next: Selecting a Widget Display

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